drago bearded dragon

Question
Hi my pet dragon got away 4 weeks ago , I searched high and low for him but did not find him it was outside when he ran away . he was about 6 months old and about 1 ft long ,grey  black and sandy colour markings . today I found him he returned back to my garden , he was not in my garden when lost he ran under a hole in a fence to next door garden and although we searched alday never saw him. I picked him up he was cold and he is sandy all over now with his black markings faded , he has been put back in his tank under his light and heat mat , at first I thought he had died I HAVE CUDDLED HIM TALKED AND STROKED HIM AND he is making movements only slightly , i have sat watching him most of the day he is justsleeping but looks puffy under his chin , and he keeps opening his mouth wide he has been doing this all day , he has opened his eyes a few times but closed them straight away , he has not eaten and I am worried that while he has been out side all this time the bugs he will have eaten and the cold nights is there anything i should do or give him to help him , i love my dragon so much and dont want him to be suffering , can you advice me with him being out side all that time if he will be ok thankyou susan

Answer
Hello Susan,

I'm so glad you found your dragon. He is probably a big shocked over the whole thing, and dehydrated. I would give him a few days to get warm and readjusted to his surroundings. I would also give him a bath or two in warm water so that he can drink and get rehydrated. Usually when they sit without their mouths open it means they are too warm. What is the surface temperature under the light, on the heating mat? If he is already low of fluids, you don't want him to be overheating. Is he able to move to a cooler spot in his cage? He will probably be fine and didn't suffer too much when he was outside. they can handle cooler nights surprisingly well. So just give him a few days without too much cuddles, so he can readjust and give him a chance to get hydrated. I think he will be just fine.

Thanks for your question, feel free to get back in touch

Jennifer